Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

I've lived in Korea and China, spent a bit of time in Taiwan. The options are what you make of it. If you cook for yourself, it's easier. If you go out to eat and can't read the menu it's harder. If you can speak the language, you still might have probs making poeple understand that you don't eat fish or chicken either.
I plan on going vegan for my new year's resolution and will be back in ASia in late Feb.

[yaramaz]

A colleague of mine in my first year in Turkey was vegetarian and stayed that way the whole year... but she never went out, and when she went out her dishes were pretty much limited to salad. Seriously, central Turkey puts lamb into everything. So yes, yes, definitely you could do it, as the veggies in the market are fabulous (though limited)- but you won't be doing much eating out. China is easier.

[jasonXkeller]

I'm glad to rekindle this topic a bit. Please forgive me in advance. I don't wish to offend anyone in my second post (as my presumption about Buddhism in Asia may have done in my first) but I should be honest. I am not vegan for health reasons, but I also don't advocate the idea that it is never OK to eat an animal. I live in the US. I understand that my life in the US grants me a great deal of latitude (perhaps luxury would be more fitting) to make the economic and dietary choices I have made. I respect that fact. Here in our beloved democracy, our votes are heard most clearly in the form of dollars and cents. Our factory farming practices are abhorrent, therefore those industries do not get my vote. It's as simple as that. I have no problem with hunting or fishing for ones food. If I had the need or the salt, I might do so myself.

I do enjoy my life in the US. I would even say that I am a patriot, but not a fool. I understand the position of the US in the world scheme. We are admired and hated, and have earned both. I am very cautious about imposing an Amero-centric would view on my hosts. I don't mean to imply that any of you do. I intend to be as gentle with other cultures as possible.

[Justin Trullinger]

There are certainly lots of ways to go about being vegetarian overseas. I've lived in several nations that weren't at all veggie friendly, yet continued to eat according to my choices.

Rather than not going out, I've had a great deal of success cultivating places where I'm a regular. This means some confusions, some repetitions, some tipping (and overtipping), some remembering people's names, some patience, explaining but not recriminating when they get it wrong in the beginning, probably paying for food you won't eat a few times...and LEARNING THE LANGUAGE. When you're in, you're, in, though- and it's always nice to have a place to go where they know your name, even if they can't pronounce it any better than you pronounce theirs.

I think in some ways the worry that some people have about whether it's culturally tolerant to be vegetarian when you're a stranger in a strange land are overblown. Nobody at all accepts ALL customs, whether in a foreign land or in their own.

I've run into "you don't respect the local culture!" as a criticism of my vegetarianism with frequency, though. Seems silly, really. I speak the local language to a high level, read local authors, participate in local arts, music, and community activities. Have many local friends. I just don't eat meat.

So I'll admit that I get wound up when accused of "not respecting the culture" by foreigners who have been here as long as me, struggle to put two sentences together in Spanish, and only socialize with locals who happen to be fluent in English.

(I realize no one here has said this, but the last post reminded me of the idea- and I think it's a common one that veggies abroad run into.)


Best,
Jsutin

[naturegirl321]

I agree with Justin. Find a resturant that you like, get to know the owners. I had one in CHina, it was the ONLY place we would go to. We were the only three foreigners in the city and it was one of the few places where we din't get laughed or stared at, and the owners were patient in explaining what the food is.

If push comes to shove, you could always say that you're allergic to meat or you don't eat it for religious reasons.

[Justin Trullinger]

I had a similar place in Korea. Got several here in Quito! (mmmmm!)

I think another key to this is the extent to which you like to eat out. I do enjoy cooking, and cook the majority of my meals at home, but I also enjoy the dining out experience. I like to eat well and drink well, in a pleasant atmosphere, and am happy to pay well to do so. I find this makes me welcome in a lot of restaurants, and in the ones where it doesn't, to heck with'em. If they aren't willing to meet a foreign vegetarian halfway, I'm happy to spend my money somewhere else.

If eating out is only a way to get food, not a pleasure that you're willing to put time, energy and money into, you may be better off cooking at home. But it's always been worth it to me, especially when I'm new in town, to put the effort into finding the places that I'll go for a good dinner out, and getting to know them.

Best,
Justin

[Wide eyed wanderer]

So I went to Korea, as a vegetarian and I did maintain my vegetarian, but....

Simply put, if you live in Seoul, it's quite easy to maintain your vegetarian diet, if not a little more pricey. There are also quite a few vegetarian/vegan restaurants and a foreigner vegetarian club and Korean vegetarian club. If you live outside of Seoul then you will be hard pressed to maintain your diet, if you want to stay healthy, not to say it's impossible, you just better hope you are a really good cook who know a lot about food!

I lived an hour outside of Seoul and I was constantly going into Seoul to the Foreign Food Market in Itaewon to buy beans and lentils that cost me a great deal of money. I met a lot of people in my city who were vegetarians and gave it up. In fact I started eating fish because if I ever wanted to eat out it was very difficult to get a dish without any sort of meat. Sometimes Koreans give you weird looks to when you tell them you are a vegetarian (Korean word for vegetarian: Chae-shik-chewee). Oh and for some strange reason they don't seem to consider ham to be meat, there were countless times where I would explain in Korean that I am vegetarian or I don't eat mean and then I would get ham in my kim-bop. I started saying "I don't eat meat and I don't eat ham". My vegetarian Korean friend also suggested that I start telling the servers I was allergic and they would start taking me more seriously, before they would use beef broth or use animal fat in the ingredients .

Many people told me to cook at home, which I did constantly however meat eaters don't understand the vegetarian diet, no offense. To maintain a healthy vegetarian diet, a vegetarian doesn't just eat vegetables and grains they have to make sure they get a proper amount of protein and iron. Korea just typically provide the foods you would typically find in North America that is typically used to provide protein. Such as beans, lentils, tempeh... ect. They have tofu, lots of tofu, all kinds of tofu. However you can't rely on just one source of protein, your body needs other sources of protein, not to mention that if don't ferment your tofu properly your body has difficulty processing it.

I also went vegan for a bit, let me tell you it was very difficult! I could never eat out and I always had to eat at home or prepare food. Like I said before it wasn't easy finding ingredients with iron, protein, omega and other nutrients. Although others have done it and all the power to them!

I figured it would be easier to be vegetarian because there was a great deal of Buddhism in Asia. The fact is things are changing there is a lot of Christianity there and Buddhism wasn't as predominant as I thought. Even then a lot of the Korean friends I had who practiced Buddhism weren't vegetarians, they may have ate less meat then most but they still ate it. It seems only the monks really stick to a strict vegetarian diet and they cook for themselves in the temples and they don't exactly eat out regularly or shop in regular supermarkets.

--------------------------------
Resources for vegetarians:

You can search for vegan/vegetarian/veg-friendly restaurants:
http://www.happycow.net/

Phonetic vegetarian phrases in other languages:
http://www.hedweb.com/animals/vegphrase.htm

Foreigner Vegetarian club in Korea:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11299200065

Useful Phrases:

- vegetarian
채식주의
chae-shik-chewee

- I�m vegetarian.
저는 채식주의자입니다
chonun chae-sheek-chewee-ja imnida

- Does this food have any meat in it?
이 음식에 고기가 들어 있나요
e eumsige gogiga duleo itnayo?

- I don�t eat (meat).
저는 (고기를) 안 먹어요
chonun (gogirul) an mogoyo.

You can substitue the word in brakets with these words:
o chicken: 닭고기 (dalk gogi)
o pig meat: 돼지고기 (tweiji gogi)
o ham: 햄 (hem)
o seafood: 해물 (haemul)
o fish: 물고기 (mulgogi)
o all kinds of meat: 모둔 종규 고기 (modun chongnyu gogi)

Hope this helps!! Stay strong!! Don't give up, we need you!!

Haha!!

-- I will repost this so it is easy to find--

[Henry_Cowell]

What a great post, "Wide eyed wanderer"!

Many people here never tell us how their stories turned out. And your suggestion to do research on the Internet is quite valuable. There are vegetarian clubs and societies all over the world that list and rate local resources such as grocers, markets and restaurants.

In Korean restaurants here in California, there are always good vegetarian options that purposely omit fish broth/sauce, meat broth/sauce, and other no-no's. But I imagine in Korea this would be next to impossible unless you forced the issue.

On occasion here, I've made a rather complete meal of just the banchan if there's nothing particularly appealing or appropriate on the menu.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

[Ariadne]

OK, I'll bite. Are you saying that in Greenland and the Far North of Canada that they eat only meat and that no canned or dried fruits and vegetables are available? No pasta? No cereal? No bread?

.

[naturegirl321]

[Justin Trullinger]

[denise]

Yes, it can be frustrating. Still doable. It does get awkward going out with friends sometimes, but I will always choose the company over the menu, even if it means that I just eat french fries for dinner. It's my own choice.

d